A SUPERMARKET IN CALIFORNIA

Allen Ginsberg: A Supermarket In California 

What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whit- 

man, for I walked down the sidestreets under the trees 

with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon. 

     In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images, 

I went into the neon fruit supermarket, dreaming of 

your enumerations! 

     What peaches and what penumbras! Whole fam- 

ilies shopping at night! Aisles full of husbands! Wives 

in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!--and you, 

García Lorca, what were you doing down by the 

watermelons? 

     I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old 

grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator 

and eyeing the grocery boys. 

     I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed 

the pork chops? What price bananas? Are you my 

Angel? 

     I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of 

cans following you, and followed in my imagination 

by the store detective. 

     We strode down the open corridors together in 

our solitary fancy tasting artichokes, possessing every 

frozen delicacy, and never passing the cashier. 

     Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors 

close in an hour. Which way does your beard point 

tonight? 

     (I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the 

supermarket and feel absurd.) 

     Will we walk all night through solitary streets? 

The trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, 

we'll both be lonely. 

     Will we stroll dreaming ofthe lost America of love 

past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent 

cottage? 

     Ah, dear father, graybeard, lonely old courage- 

teacher, what America did you have when Charon quit 

poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank 

and stood watching the boat disappear on the black 

waters of Lethe? 

                                   Berkeley 1955 

A ALLEN GINSBERG

MIENTRAS CAMINABA POR LAS CALLEJUELAS...

EN MI HAMBRIENTA FATIGA...

SOÑANDO EN TUS ENUMERACIONES

POR LAS BRILLANTES PILAS DE LATAS, SIGIENDOTE,

¿HACIA DONDE APUNTA TU BARBA ESTA NOCHE?

CAMINAMOS TODAS LAS NOCHES POR CALLES SOLITARIAS,

LOS ÁRBOLES AÑADEN SOMBRAS A LAS SOMBRAS,

LAS LUCES DE LA CASA SE APAGAN Y NOS SENTIMOS SOLOS,